Sun And Moon And Everything In Between
by Megwolf13
Summary: Inspired by a tumblr post written by "dopamine and the divine," reposted by "thespoiledbat" with screencaps by "Bentfire." It said "Tell me the story/About how the sun/Loved the Moon so much/He died every night/to let her breathe." Reviews appreciated, not necessary; Rated T for adult situations- no explicit. "She was a villain and he was a hero. It would not work; it was madness."


_Okay, so this is a story based on a tumblr entry made by **thespoiledbat**, who applied pictures to a poem created by **dopamine and the divine**; the screencaps for the post by **thespoiledbat** were made by **Bentfire**. So, anyway, the post went "Tell me the story/About how the sun/Loved the Moon so much/He died every night/to let her breathe. And the pictures for Spitfire went so completely with the story that I couldn't help but try to write a story about it. I'm not sure if I did it justice, but I can say that I did the best I could (pitiful as that best is). Anyway, yeah, so here it is, and just to mention, no, I don't own Young Justice or Artemis Crock or Wally West or any of the characters in the story, not even the **truly** fictional ones, as they are related to "real" ones and therefore cannot be used in real life. Oh, I also don't own the phrase that this story was inspired by (that phrase is owned by **dopamine and the divine**, who wrote it as a poem of sorts) and I don't own tumblr or anything posted on it. So yeah, I have a cat named Lynx who is a complete and total angel and who was paid for by my parents. That is to say (repeat after me children): I own nothing. _

_One other thing: a quick update on my story "Resolute Softness." Now, I know I promised in my most recently posted story "The Fall of Jinx" that I would update "Resolute Softness" no later than the end of March. Clearly, this did not occur. I'm not sure when I will get it updated. I promise it will happen sometime during the summer. Yes, I know this is pitiful and trust-breaking. However, no inspiration plus a very busy life equal a not updated story._

_So, anyway: on to the story! I hope you enjoy; reviews are not needed, but, as always, are appreciated._

**Sun And Moon And Everything In Between**

**~Or~**

**Tell me the story/About how the sun/Loved the Moon so much/He died every night/to let her breathe**

She was a villain and he was a hero. It would not work; it was madness. But they were teenagers and mad with hormones. Touching felt dangerous, a racing of the pulse that began with words and ended with a chase. It was lust, not love; but his heartbeat under her hand, the knowledge that this would last only for half the night before one of them slipped out and left for home- it did much for them, the nights spent in each other's arms.

It went on like that for three years. He ran, she ran; she chased, he chased. They danced a dance on the edge of the world, clinging to the edge of the cliff as they spun, holding each other so close that they could hear each other's heartbeats, count the breaths for the waves and hum their pulses to the celestial bodies that chased each other far above, her moon to his sun.

But the cliff fell from underneath them when months went by with no red week. Artemis knew what would happen; her sister was the perfect example.

She wanted him to leave; he wanted to stay. He would not leave them, he would not walk out. His- their- child would have a father. It was impossible with them, she told him this. Heroes and villains did not work well together, let alone have children. She pointed to her sister and his friend Harper and asked him if they worked out. He disagreed with her, told her that Roy and Jade were different, that they weren't them. She asked for evidence, and he, having no proof, held out his empty hands, demanding that she give him a chance. They compromised, and decided to take it year by year and day by day.

Six months after the arguments and the tears and the demands, a girl was born, a girl with dark skin and blond hair and grey eyes and a heartbeat that was a little too fast for her liking. Artemis thought about all those moon-filled nights they had spent together, talking and kissing under the full-bodied sphere that watched them with a gaze that did not judge them for their sins of want and moments of happiness. She thought of the moon and of that day, nine months ago, when the moon eclipsed the sun, and wondered if that was why their daughter looked so much like her, she who was named for the huntress that raced in the moonlight, hair streaming behind her as bucks and wolves ran on either side.

She named her Iris for Wally's Aunt and spent one month in Europe in a safe house before finally getting the guts to go back to the States, buying an apartment in Keystone City and giving Wally the spare key, gratefully taking turns with diaper changes and midnight feedings. He visited once a month, sneaking away and bringing dinner, flowers, and supplies. They spent the nights together, sometimes just lying in bed with Iris, sometimes putting her in her crib and attacking each other the moment they exited her room. It was a strange existence, one that would only happen when Iris was young enough to forget him. It worked, somehow; most times Artemis didn't know how.

She became pregnant a second time, again completely unintentional. Iris was one and a half, a good age to have a sibling. Not too close, not too far away. Again they prepared a safe house and made excuses; and something in Artemis dared to hope that they would be a family, just the four of them, a real family with a real house and a blue kitchen (yellow being too much for even such distant hopes).

But as soon as he was born Artemis knew that Wally Jr. would never be hers. He belonged to the sun, not to the moon, the red hair and pale skin and heartbeat that made her think of hummingbirds' wings beating so fast. He was a lunar eclipse, the sun hiding the moon in the middle of the night, shielding her from strangers' view. She held out hope and snuck away with him and Iris for a year, leaving Wally in the middle of the night in some vain hope that her son might also be claimed as hers. But as soon as Wally could walk he took off running, already as fast as a four-year old, and Artemis knew what had to be done.

Wally had been understandably angry that she had taken off with their children the moment Wally Jr. was born, leaving no address and no explanations. But she needed him now, needed him to be there for just a moment so she could explain her disappearance and then take off again, running all the way so as to hide her heartbreak and tears that she would blame, inevitably, on the sun. She found him easily, his address unchanged, and so she left a note as she once had, a folded piece of paper in a jar on his front porch, positioned so that the full moon would strike it exactly at midnight.

It was dark out when he came, as it always was. He seemed agitated, anger and confusion hunching his shoulders and tensing his entire frame until he was as taut as noontime sunbeam passing through a newly-cleaned window. He came to the door, not the window, and knocked before entering, something he hadn't done for a long while. She let him in and he entered slowly, taking in her apartment, newly rented, clean and quiet. He looked around, and she motioned down the hall, already knowing who he was looking for as he went into Iris' room, taking in the changes. He glanced into the other bedroom, clearly surprised to see only boxes and a crib.

"Do you want to hold him?"

He stayed silent as she explained what would happen: that she and Iris would move to an undisclosed location, that he would take Wally with him. She told him that she didn't care what story he used or made up to explain Wally Jr. as long as he claimed him as his son and made no mention of a villainous for a mother. He would not be allowed to see Iris again; she was old enough to remember things now, and she could not know who he was.

At the end of it, there was silence. Wally opened his mouth to speak, though what he would say she had no idea. He was a stranger to her now, a foreigner who did not look like the man she had left behind, his light eclipsed by stormy clouds that had not been present before. He started to speak, but closed his mouth suddenly as little feet and a sleepy yawn came from the hallway. "Mom?" Iris was rubbing her eyes, hair tangled around her and flowery nightgown, a ubiquitous necessity of childhood, falling off one shoulder.

Something defiant grew in Artemis as she watched Iris and Wally watch each other. Iris would never know her father, would in all likelihood forget her brother. But Artemis could give her this one night to bathe in the sun, one night before they plunged into the eternal darkness that was life.

They had a late second dinner together, all of them. Iris, at first shy, started chattering at Wally, her motions wild and her eyes bright. They watched a movie, Iris and Wally Jr. stuck on Wally's and Artemis' laps, the both of them falling asleep somewhere in the beginning of the middle. Wally and Artemis let them stay, watching the movie and just being together. When the movie was over Wally put Iris to bed, then, taking Wally Jr.'s bags out to his car and coming back for his son, kissed Artemis on the forehead, evoking some feeling that, had she not been who she was, Artemis might have called love.

The next two years flew in a storm of sadness (they were gone), hopelessness (was it really inevitable?) and denial (no-she-no). Artemis grew and grew, no longer an almost three-year old but a bubbly five year-old who tried to remember to walk and not run. Try as she might, Artemis could no longer deny that the end was coming. As much as she tried to deny it, Iris was like Wally. It had been easy, in the past, to hide it, what with Artemis moving often and Iris being shy with strangers. But she would start school soon, and surely it would come out then.

She would have to be careful about how she did this. Certain people were starting to suspect, people she couldn't afford to let know. If she did this right, nobody would know.

One of Wally's friends was a man named Roy Harper, a man who, incidentally, had been married to her sister. Jade had dropped Lian off with Roy as soon as she was born; all anyone knew was that Jade had had a baby and given her up. People would talk, might suspect something was up; but no one would ever believe anything was going on more than a mother finally getting fed up with taking care of her kid.

It was supposed to be simple: a quick dropping off of her bags, sneak in the house with Iris, corner Harper and tell him about Iris and her connection to Jade, explain the situation to him, introduce Iris, say good-bye, and then leave. Harper would contact Wally and take care of Iris for her until he came; no matter what he may think of her sister or her, he would never intentionally hurt a child.

Artemis snuck the bags in, then went back for Iris. Carrying her on her back, the girl blissfully asleep, she headed for the backyard where voices called to one another. Artemis rounded the corner and froze.

Harper was indeed there, as was his daughter Lian. As was Wally and Wally Jr.

She was frozen; Wally spotted her first. He stood up, disbelief clear on his face. As he came closer to her, emotions played under the surface. Sadness, anger, confusion- it was all there. He wore his heart on his sleeve.

Iris, still on Artemis' back, woke sleepily. She slid from Artemis' back and Artemis watched Wally's eyes grow big, because they both knew that there could only be a few reasons that Artemis would bring Iris to him.

Behind Wally, Harper had stood up, looking at her with a narrow pair of eyes. His daughter, Lian, was chasing Wally Jr., who simply picked up speed with a loud cheer. Iris stiffened as Wally Jr. continued to run. She had been told not to run, to walk, always walk; She believed that it was like this for all children. Artemis interrupted her reverie, needing to get the basic facts straight.

"Iris, do you remember this man?"

Artemis' voice was light; although she held Iris' hand in her own, almost all of her attention was focused on Wally. Iris did not answer. When Artemis looked at her, she looked away. "Iris?"

Her voice was quiet. "He looks like…" She stopped, took a deep breath, just like Artemis did.

"Whenever I think of Dad, I think of a man coming over and having dinner and watching a movie with us. And when he leaves, he takes a little boy with him and puts me to bed."

Artemis bit her lip, taking a deep breath of her own. She wished it didn't have to be like this, but there was no other end to this situation. "That really happened. The man from your dream is this man. He's your Dad Iris."

Iris didn't look at him, simply at her. "Mom?" Her voice was quivering; she knew something was up the same way she knew they were going to move. She knew when things were changing, she was smart like that. There were times when Iris knew they were going to move before Artemis did, her daughter picking up on the subconscious cues Artemis gave off, cues Artemis had not realized she displayed. "You're going to live with him, Iris. And Wally Jr., your brother."

Iris shook her head, violently yanking her hand from Artemis', as determined as she to stop the change as she was determined when they were forced to move and she didn't want to. "No, I want to live with you. I don't want to leave you. I'm not going to leave you, so why do you want to leave me?"

Artemis ignored the question, knowing it would only break Iris' heart. "Iris-"

"NO!" Iris yanked her hand out of Artemis' grip and began to run, her long legs and superspeed almost outpacing Artemis' fastest sprint already. Before Artemis could say something, Wally was in front of Iris, face calm and arms on his knees as he knelt to meet her on level.

She looked shocked; she had been told not to display any hint of speed, and the possibility that someone else might be able to run faster than her had not been entertained. Leaning forward, Wally whispered something in her ear, something that made her allow him to take her hand and lead her back to Artemis.

"Mom?" Her voice was sad again, confused, again like when they had to move. Artemis swallowed a lump in her throat. "You're going to live with your Dad now, with your Dad and your brother. You'll be okay, Iris. You-you need to live with them."

"But why can't I live with you?" Her daughter's tone was desperate, pleading.

Her heart was breaking. She should have given her to Wally the moment she began to suspect, she should have gone with logic and ignored her heart. Artemis knelt down, coming eye to eye with her daughter, side-by-side with Wally. "Iris, you know how I go out sometimes and leave you with your Aunt Jade?"

She nodded, still sniffing. "Do you know what I do?"

She nodded again. "What I do is wrong, Iris. I do bad things. I don't want you to do bad things, Iris. I want you to be like your Dad, I want you to be a good guy. I'm not a good guy- I'm- I'm a villain."

Iris was shaking her head furiously, her mouth a firm line, her belief in her mother unshakeable. "Mom-"

"Iris- you're living with your Dad. I love you, I won't ever stop loving you. But I don't want you to be me."

For a moment nothing was said or done, simply another moment frozen in time, as Iris tried to come up with an argument that could conquer Artemis' firmest tone. Then the tears came, the inevitability crashing down on her like a ton of bricks. "Mom…" Artemis took Iris into her arms as Harper backed away slowly, awkwardly, from the background, going to Lian and Wally Jr. and leading them in side, giving the family privacy as the two children glanced backwards, alarm in their eyes.

"I love you Iris, but you need to be here."

"I'll be good Mom, I won't run-"

"You need to run. You need to use your powers for good."

More tears; her daughter's face, red and teary and breaking as Artemis blinked back her own sorrow. "Why can't you be good too Mom? Why can't you go with us?"

Artemis shook her head, handing her off to Wally. He took her, prying her off Artemis, capturing her flailing limbs and meeting Artemis' eyes, his gaze asking her, offering her what Iris had just begged for. He would do it, she could see: he would do anything for her, would cross seas and climb mountains, would fall down a thousand rabbit holes if only it would make her stay with them.

She left before the sun blinded her too much to see her path.

A long time ago, when she and Wally were Kid Flash and Tigress, bickering enemies and reluctant friends, when secrets were hoarded and exchanged sparingly: a long time ago, when she was Tigress and knew nothing of the beautiful, beautiful sun, she confessed to him, her enemy, that once, a very long time ago, she had dreamed of a better world, a place where parents did not force their children to fight and girls became heroes, not villains.

It had been a dark and stormy night, almost moonless. They had found each other, her assisting her father in a robbery and he patrolling with his mentor. They had fought, mentor to mentor and apprentice to apprentice; they became carried away in their mutual hatred (lust) for each other (themselves). An abandoned building, still standing but prone to ruin, trapped them in its depths when lightning struck the roof and water flooded the basement.

They were trapped for nearly three days, her tracker and his comm, which contained a tracker, having been lost in the tussle. On the first day they bickered, arguing faults and placing blames. On the second day they were silent, tired and hungry, hope and belief starting to wane. On the third day, the light gone as clouds covered the sun and the moon disappeared for 24 hours, they crawled close, one starting the move and the other finishing the task. Her head lay on his chest, his heartbeat in her ear, her breath on his chest, rising and falling in time. Slowly, cautiously, they began to speak, of childhoods and dreams and hopes and beliefs. And somewhere in all of that, slipping in between his hero-worship of the Flash and her sadness at her Mom's jailing; somewhere in the middle of it all, she told him of a time long ago when she had, for a few weeks, worn a green costume and mask and paraded around Gotham, helping out his team several times. She hadn't been sure, at the time, what he had thought of it; later on, she realized that this confession, that moment where she had mourned her lost dream with her enemy: that was where the chase began.

Six months passed and Artemis stayed on the move, knowing someone was tracking her but being unsure who. She stayed out of the Americas and Europe, choosing instead to pursue Asia and Africa, places where she had a chance at blending in with her darker skin.

It wasn't enough. Jade found her first, tracking her to their Mother's former village in Vietnam. She had been staying in the forest but decided to risk the local inn; clearly this had been a mistake, as her sister proved.

Jade slipped in through the window. Artemis, expecting company, slipped her sais out of their holsters and held them at the ready. Jade smiled her Cheshire grin, pretending to be offended in that superior tone of hers. "Now Artemis, is that any way to treat your sister?"

Artemis growled, lowering her sais but not yet putting them away. "Jade- what do you want?"

Her sister's grin growing as she pulled out a kunai, seemingly unperturbed as she began to clean her nails. "I just wanted to pop by, give you a little news."

Artemis' voice was a growl, short and low as she confronted her sister. "What news?"

"Oh, just that many in the Shadows find it unacceptable that you are allowing your children to be raised by a hero."

Artemis froze. "How do they know?" Jade didn't answer, and Artemis launched herself at her, stopping a mere few inches from her face. "Jade!"

With still no answer, Artemis whirled around and started to pace. Bitterly, she asked, "So what do they think of Lian?"

Jade's voice grew cold. "As far as the Shadows are concerned Lian is dead, and I'll thank you to keep it that way. Your children, on the other hand, are clearly not, a fact that some are itching to rectify. Now, now," she said, "Let's not get too hasty. All the Shadows wants is for them to be raised by you and not your little boyfriend. No, they don't know who he is. But they will figure it out."

She left after some time. Artemis stayed, physically frozen as her mind raced, running and chasing its own tail as she tried to figure a way out of the situation that wouldn't end with half the people dead. What could she do, what could-

A wind blew and red flashed out of the corner of her eye. "Artemis."

He was there, desperate looking and determined. "Artemis, you need to come home."

She sat on the bed, smiling a small smile at the irony of the situation, that he wasn't taking care of them now and if only they could see that. She was so distracted by this thought that she missed what he said. "Artemis, are you listening? Iris and Wally need you. They need their Mom. Artemis?!"

His face was inches from hers, his hands on her shoulders. She could see that he was tempted to shake her; she knew that he wouldn't, that no matter how much he changed he wouldn't, couldn't, hurt her, just as she, for all of her running and hiding, couldn't really hurt him. She patted the space on the bed next to her, indicating that he should sit down. When he did nothing of the sort, she tugged on his arm, the come hither gesture taking on new meaning as he obeyed.

She explained the situation to him, about the risk of discovery and the danger the children were in and how the Shadows wasn't really pleased with a hero raising them but would be fine with her. At the end of her explanation he looked at her, and she saw, somewhere in between the utter crush of failure and the desperation and determination to protect them, to protect them all; somewhere between these feelings she saw, once more, a flash that strange feeling that was nor lust or longing but...

They went back to the States, a plan waiting in the wings. Wally formally introduced her to the heroes, believing it would be necessary for them to be able to work together. She agreed, but knew what would come. She expected and received no less than the cold shoulder and no more than open hostility. Artemis didn't blame them, not after she'd spent years trying to hurt them. His former teammates, the ones he was closest to, clearly didn't trust her. The Justice League wasn't sure what to make of her, though she bet Batman was itching to lock her up. His Uncle Barry was interesting. It was clear he wanted nothing more than to defeat the Shadows and then toss her in jail. However, having no proof and wanting to keep on the good side of his nephew, he gritted his teeth and said hello in a tone that, while not pleasant, was also not hostile.

She met his parents next. They knew nothing of her criminal history, only that she was the mother of their grandchildren and she had given them to Wally when she was unable to take care of them. Though they clearly weren't sure what to make of her, they quickly warmed up over dinner, especially once the children came down and she hugged them, tears in her eyes, proving that she was not heartless and only had their best interests at heart.

Next, Wally asked her to wed him. A thousand arguments had come to her mind when he first brought it up in the middle of their planning in Vietnam. There were so many reasons why it would never work, explanations and examples as to the madness of considering such a venture. But Iris and Wally Jr. were there in her mind, and so were her parents in one of their happier moments. In her mind she could see herself and Jade, their eyes wide with hope. And then, again, that emotion, unspeakable, was in his eyes. It fluttered in her heart also, taunting her with weakness. She thought about that night when it had all changed, her wish for a better world. She said yes, and made it look good when he asked her in front of his parents.

It was a small ceremony in the small church where his parents had gotten married. On his side, his parents, his uncle and aunt, his two young cousins, and a few friends including a boy named Grayson, Harper, another kid named Kal something or other, a brooding boy named Conner, and Conner's too-peppy girlfriend Megan. On her side, her sister managed to show up. She held Lian, who was ecstatic that her mother had showed up. The other person was Artemis' mother. She hadn't seen her for a long time, not since she had run away to move in with her Dad after the inevitability of her future crashed in on her and she folded to fate. It mad her sad to consider that she had never met her grandchildren. Artemis rectified this after the ceremony, taking Iris and Wally Jr. from Wally's parents for a moment to introduce them to their grandmother.

They stayed in a hotel room that night, after the reception. The sun set and the moon rose, and they talked throughout the night in intermittent spurts between certain activities a couple usually does on a honeymoon. They shared memories both new and old, they whispered secrets and went over the plan one last time. And most of all they were there, with each other, the need for secrets over for this small amount of time.

One week after they came back, Artemis, Wally, and Team Sidekicks confronted the Shadows. They knew the plan, and had worked it several times. As expected, they won...

After Jade killed Wally in a betrayal that no one saw coming.

The heroes held her in a containment cell for the next three months. She guessed they weren't sure about her loyalties. She did not blame them, not completely. She was frustrated, but understood; had a hero become a villain she would never have trusted him or her, not completely and not ever. They discussed what to do with her. She caught pieces of the arguments, her cell close enough to the meeting room to hear some of the shouts. She was a bad guy and had committed crimes; she had never been convicted, never been caught, and had no warrants out for her arrest in any country. They couldn't be sure that she wouldn't return to a life of crime, but they couldn't track her every move indefinitely, though from some of the snippets she heard as they passed by her cell she knew the option was heavily favored by some.

In the end it was Wally, as ever, who saved her. She was pregnant again, two babies growing and kicking inside her womb.

First, she considered lodging a complaint with her birth-control company about the obviously poor quality of their product. Secondly, she considered digging up Wally's coffin so she could have a talk with him on the things he was not allowed to do before dying. And thirdly, she left the prison cell once they released her and had a nice long talk with her mother and sister about what she was going to do, exactly, with four children who would probably all have superspeed and would have no one to teach them what not to do.

Her pregnancy changed everything in respect to her relationship with Wally's friends. Heroes started talking to her, inviting her over for dinner and bringing things for the children. Green Arrow helped her find a place to live in a small town outside Blue Valley, and Batman secured a job as an archery instructor at a campground only one mile from her home. Black Canary, Superboy, Miss Martian, Aqualad, and Nightwing helped her move in to said house and got furniture and supplies that she needed, having spent two years on the run and Wally's own things not being enough in some cases. She was invited over for dinner almost every night at someone or another's house, with half of them clucking their tongues and telling her she was too skinny and she needed to eat more since she was eating for three. A girl named Zatanna threw her a baby shower, and when she gave birth, Wally's Uncle took care of Iris and Wally Jr. while she stayed at Wally's parents' house to recover from her C-section.

The twins were different from either Iris or Wally. Iris was the moon, taking clearly after her, her superspeed reflective of Wally's own powers. Wally Jr. was Wally in miniature, a bright sun freckled with sun spots. But the twins, one boy and one girl, were a straight mix, both sun and moon and everything in between. Their heartbeats were much faster than Iris' had been, but slower than their big brothers' was. Their hair was blond and curly, their eyes green. Their skin was some in-between of Artemis' and Wallys', and a set of light brown freckles dotted their upper faces. Artemis named them Apollo and Rahab, strange names, to be sure. But Apollo was the twin of Artemis, the god of the sun and music and poetry and healing. Wally had been one of the few good things in her life; he certainly had been like Apollo to her. And Rahab was perfect in Artemis' mind, for although neither Wally or Artemis were religious, the story of Rahab, the reformed prostitute who found herself saved in a city full of pagans, whose betrayal of her King saved her and her family and allowed her to meet and marry her future husband, a Jew who was a leader among his people that had not met the right woman except in the middle of a doomed city; yes, Artemis could see how that situation might be very much like her own.

The twins and their siblings grew as the years went by. Artemis quit her job at the campground and started her own business teaching archery, a business that expanded rapidly. She received no visits from the Shadows, who, according to Jade, were fine with the situation as Kid Flash was dead. She continued to be invited to dinner every night and accepted almost all of them, using the Zeta tubes to travel across the country in a manner of seconds. Barry stopped by once a week and the kids, Apollo and Rahab included once they became old enough, went running with him and his kids. They received innumerable presents come birthdays and Christmas, and Artemis did her best to return the favor to the heroes. Once every two weeks the kids visited her Mom, Artemis' relationship with her restored after Wally's death and her subsequent talk with her and Jade.

And once a month, on every full moon, Artemis asked one of Wally's friends or family to watch the children for her. They seemed to understand that she needed some time alone and so took the kids, dropping them off at school if needed.

They thought she needed some time alone, and she did. Because every full moon, just after sunset, Artemis set the table at her house for two. And just when she had food on the table, someone snuck up from behind and hugged her, at times twisting her so as to give her a kiss.

Wallace Rudolph West was killed by Jade Nyugen-Harper. Except it wasn't a permanent death.

They had argued when he came for her in Vietnam. The only things they agreed on was that if he raised the kids, then the Shadows would intervene and that if she raised the kids, they would not become the heroes they were destined to be, not in the environment they would be subjected to.

It was his idea to wed. She knew that a part of him, the part that wasn't focused on the plan, truly wanted it, just as a small part of her, the part that felt that unspeakable feeling, wanted it (a little bit) too.

But mostly (mainly) the wedding was for Wally's friends. He would die by Jade's hand, only to be woken before his body was embalmed, the explanation of having already had the task done, the body put into a coffin with a transformed piece of wood magicked to look like him, and there Artemis would be, his grieving widow, two kids and only a high school diploma. The ultimate sympathy card, made even better by her pregnancy (though that was never planned.)

He had a disguise amulet, courtesy of some witch who owed Jade a favor. He looked different to everyone except for Jade, Artemis, and himself. He lived in a small town in Alaska, teaching high-school students chemistry and physics. His students swore he was a werewolf, pointing to his exceptional reflexes and the bags under his eyes after every full moon. He encouraged the rumor to the administration's laughing disapproval and the student's delight by coming in the day of every full moon with fur.

He visited once a month. They had dinner, occasionally watched a movie on her couch. But mostly they stayed in her room in her bed, talking about their lives and being with each other, all masks off.

They talked about what-ifs, going far in depth into the past. He believed that if she had continued her work, Batman or Green Arrow would have approached her, and she would have joined the team. She wasn't so sure, but he seemed convinced that not only this would happen, but they would have gotten together and ended up living together in some college dorm, probably with a dog.

She rolled her eyes at his delusional fantasies but allowed them, some part of her truly wondering if that was what would have happened.

They talked; they did the married couple thing. Before the twins were born he felt them kick in her stomach; after they were born he checked out the kids rooms, occasionally leaving them a book or a small toy.

He left as the sun was rising, needing to get back to Alaska and the charade they played. They had an early breakfast and said goodbye; he left, and she went to her job.

Two years after the twins were born, she had news for him and a complaint to the condom company. She wasn't far along, only about a month, but both of them knew the odds of this one being a speedster.

She wondered what they would say. She often wondered if Nightwing or Batman suspected what Wally, Jade, and she had done; doubtless this would make them more suspicious. She wondered what they would say when the baby displayed superspeed. She knew there was a chance that it wouldn't happen, that he or she would display no superpowers and live a normal life. She also knew how much the universe liked to mess with her.

She wondered if the baby would be a boy or a girl. She wondered if he or she would be moon or sun or both or neither.

She and Wally wondered these things out loud, her emergency call to him having him come running in the middle of the day so they could plan what she would say before someone found out.

They wondered and discussed, and he left as the sun died, the moon rising to take its place with grateful breaths.


End file.
